The Casualties Weren't so Casual
by Super-Navi
Summary: (SpaMano) Antonio has been living by himself for the past 3 months since his boyfriend's death, but his world is turned upside-down when a mysterious figure appears in the backseat of his car, and Antonio learns death doesn't do everyone part. (Rating may go up)
1. Chapter 1

The snow whizzed through the air in fat clumps, sticking to the windshield before being wiped away by the window wipers and sticking to the hood of a Corolla, spotting the forest green paint job a pale white before melting away from the heat.

"Slow the hell down!" the passenger cried while punching the driver's bicep softly

The driver smiled and kept his emerald orbs on the road, chuckling and tapping his pinky and ring finger on the steering wheel to Queen's The Night Comes Down which was playing through an mp3 player connected to a rat's nest of cables for an audio jack.

The driver's distant and absent minded humming echoed through the car while the rumbling of the wheels created its own rhythmic humming.

The driver then sharply turned the steering wheel, jutting the car off the freeway and on to a nearby road.

"We are fine!" he said, his rough Spanish accent seeming to calm the passenger, who turned to him and shot him a glare, and if looks could kill, the driver would be dead.

"Bastard, make sure to watch out on the intersection up ahead!" The passenger nearly yelled, to which the driver gave a slight nod and hummed.

The song on the radio ended and the car was brought to a heavy silence, the low rumble of the wheels against the pavement creating an ambiance throughout the car, without taking away from the awkwardness off the silence.

The driver opened his mouth, but before he could make small talk to break the ice, the song on the radio switched. A wining of a guitar echoed through the car, mimicking the siren sound of an ambulance, and the passenger's eyes lit up, but the frown stayed plastered on his face. he quickly turned the volume nob on the radio before crossing his arms again.

"You like this song?" The driver questioned through a dopey smirk while giving the passenger a glance.

"What does it matter to you?" the passenger spat before giving the driver another glare. The passenger then looked out the window, facing away from the driver, and began to quietly sing along with the song, his voice in a cautious mumble.

" _Bury me in the bedroom where I,  
I can sing you to sleep all night.  
Put me next to the open window,  
promise me a second time.  
'Cause I don't want to leave without you buried by my side.  
I'd rather kill the one responsible for falling stars at night,  
'cause they fall all around me.  
The night can be deadly."_

The driver then turned to the passenger, his lips pressed together to cage a chuckle that was rippling through his body.

The passenger stopped his singing.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" he snapped, he leaned forward, threatening the driver's personal space.

"You should sing louder." The driver continued, "It sounds nice."

The passenger just deepened his frown and huffed. His Eyes than quickly widened in shock and his hands flew to the steering wheel.

"Oh! SHI-!" But before he could finish his sentence he was flung forward in a ditch attempt of hitting the breaks so they didn't crash into another car at the intersection. A crash of metal rang through the car, and the hissing of airbags expanding was heard.

The impact knocked the driver onto the car door, leaving his head, as well as his heart, pounding. The music was echoing eerily into the silence of the night, making the hairs rise on his neck in fear. The radio, now damaged, let the siren wail of the guitar seem louder than the lyrics.

" _And they'll never take us alive.  
(Can you chase away the darkness?)  
To live in love and die.  
Last night she recited every reason she's fine.  
So if we're heading there together at the same time,  
you sing while I drive"_

The song reminded the former driver of the passenger that was also with him, he began to panic, flailing his arms in an attempt to push down the air bags.

When the passenger was visible the driver started to choke back sobs and shake his head, mumbling "This can't be right." Under his breath, shock setting in. the whole world seemed to be in slow motion, nothing was right. Big fat tears rolled from his emerald orbs and rested on his jawline, before falling onto the forehead of the passenger.

The other car on the intersection had slammed into the passenger side, making the door cave onto the passenger, his torso broken and his ribs pointing out at odd angles under his skin and his breathing labored, his left leg appeared to be broken at the shin, while a shard of sheet metal appeared to be stabbing into his right thigh, a pool of blood already forming onto his seat, and the metallic smell it brought filled the drivers nostrils. He swallowed the vomit that ripped up his throat.

Tears started streaming down again and he cried out into the night.

"God what have I done?!" he cupped the passengers face and rubbed a bloody thumb over his cheek, before putting an ear to his chest, listening to his faint breathing which was slowing down progressively, to the listener's horror.

He lifted his head up and let out an enraged grunt, filled with pain.

"I'm sorry Lovi, I'm so, so, so sorry!" he screamed into the night while blinking away tears. The sound of actual sirens echoed through the night and drowned him out.

He put his ear to the passenger again, but lightly, as if the man was made of crumbling china, and not skin and bone.

His breathing had stopped, and grief and anger filled his face. He clutched the passenger's hand lightly and kissed his forehead, for what he knew was the last time.

The squeak of an old parking brake was heard and the driver let go of his friend to poke his head out the window to find a parked ambulance and fire truck. The red flashing lights made the trees appear to be dancing as they flickered.

A woman ran out of the ambulance toward their car, her ginger braid bouncing off her shoulders, and by the time she made it to the car, she was panting heavily.

Her sea-glass green eyes flicked around the interior of the car frantically, as if assessing damage hurriedly, before falling over the corpse of the passenger.

The driver looked at him again and became teary, before looking at the woman and snapping.

"He's dead! You got here too late!" his glare burned strait through the woman, before softening and letting tears stream down his face again.

"This is my fault!" he cried "Not yours! I'm sorry!"

The woman looked him I the eyes and sighed, while putting her hand on her hip.

"I'm sorry sir, can you get out of the car or do you need help?" the woman said nervously.

"I'm fine" the man said under his breath before opening the door of the car and limping out, he stumbled and the woman ran forward and caught him.

She shot him a nervous glance and offered a shoulder, to which he propped himself upon and gave her a tired smile.

As they were walking back the man took one last look at the car and the warm corpse of his friend, and chocked back another sob. _What had he done?!_


	2. Chapter 2

Antonio looked in the mirror of his visor in his car and smoothing over the collar of his shirt, sighed. Lovi always loved this green button up, but it was hell to iron and the collar never smoothed out.

While looking through the mirror he ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair and then checked his overall appearance:

He was nothing short of a hot mess. His hair, no matter how many times he combed his fingers through, was matted; his face looked sunken, while his eyes perched above dark bags.

He mused all of the happiness he had into a fake smile, brushed crumbs from his lap with a grimace, swung the car door open, and stepped out.

He brushed pebbles with his shoe while he walked through the parking lot, taking in the scenery, but keeping his eyes mostly on the sky, which wasn't a good idea considering he could run in to things, but the layout of the parking lot was well known to him- or at least he had a slight idea of where he was going.

But no matter how many times he double checked to make sure he wasn't walking into a street lamp, his eyes kept flicking towards the pinkish-blue hues of the sunset, whistling as he walked.

Lovino plopped down on the grass, ignoring the annoying moisture of the grass brushing on his legs. The chill in the air had become more relevant when a gust of wind flowed through, ruffling Lovino's hair and rustling the grass around him.

He propped his head up on his hand and glanced at the sky, the purple and pink hues blended together, reminding him of his brother's paintings, which always were done in perfection.

Footsteps were heard and he quickly flicked his gaze to the source. A man who appeared to be in his late 20's with wavy unkempt hair was strolling down the path; his sunken eyes were glued to the sky, and Lovino would have no idea who that was, if it weren't for his signature dopey smile.

Antonio glanced a little over Lovino's head and sighed, a sad look washing over him. He instantly replaced the look with one of joy, and he walked forward, never taking a glance at Lovino.

Lovino angrily grit his teeth in annoyance, he felt a pang of annoyance, wishing Antonio would look at him.

Antonio walked right past him unknowingly and suddenly stopped by a cement structure that seemed to be about waist high.

Lovino stood closely behind and curiously watched Antonio's movements; his eyes flicking over the structure, his lips quivering as he read the engraving under his breath. His eyes glazed over with unshed tears as he read the words out loud.

" _Lovino Vargas; May he live along angels."_

Lovino chuckled. _Live along angels_?

"Feli must have written this mushy crap…" he grumbled under his breath.

But Antonio didn't seem to find the humor in his comment; he sniffled a little and rubbed at his face with his sleeve to stop any loose tears. Lovino's pursed lip slid into a grimace and he rubbed his thumb across Antonio's face. He flinched and goosebumps rose on the back of his neck in response. Almost, as if automatically, he shivered and crossed his arms tightly together to keep the chill out.

He sniffled and heled back tears.

Lovino chuckled again, but this time it was full of emotion, not happiness, but discontent and malice.

"It sucks doesn't it?" he purred while wrapping his arms around Antonio, still standing behind him.

Antonio ignored him and proceeded to slip from his grip and fall to his knees in front of the gravestone, the dew on the grass wetting his knees.

"U-uh hey Lovi," he stuttered out, his words seemed to be getting caught up in his throat. "Um, how are you doing?"

"Terrible." Lovino spat while sitting down on his headstone, a visible grimace on his face.

Antonio sniffed again.

"Oh no, don't you dare start crying over me like some idiot!" Lovino said with a steely cold tone.

A tear streamed down Antonio's face.

"Oh god damn it." He said as he leaned off the headstone so he could wipe a tear away from Antonio's face.

"I-uh got a new job." Antonio detailed. " I was hired at that little restaurant. You know that one that you, Francis, and I liked? Yeah, I work there. It pays really nice, like I think I can get a nicer apartment."

He could barely stutter out his answers, and even when he could, he hesitated in his speech. All Lovino could do was stare, both of them silent, and Antonio was visibly uncomfortable. He whipped his head around and scanned the cemetery, his eyebrows knit and his eyes hardened into a suspicious gaze.

"Huh, I feel kind of like someone is watching me… weird." He mumbled.

Lovino grunted "No shit Sherlock." He continued to silently observe the man.

As if almost instantly Antonio quickly dug around in his pocket before pulling out his phone. He stared deeply into the screen and sighed. Lovino, curious as to what Antonio was looking at, ran behind him to peek over his shoulder at the text displayed on the screen.

 **Francis** :

 **Hey, Gilbert and I are going to the pub on 9** **th** **street. Are you in?**

Antonio sighed and then pursed his lips while typing in his answer.

 **Yeah, sounds cool! :)**

A smile spread across his face and he exhaled through his nose in a laugh of sorts. Lovino smiled a little seeing how happy Antonio seemed to be.

But to Lovino's horror, he stood up and began to walk out of the cemetery, his hand clutching the phone in his pocket. Lovino nervously glanced around the cemetery, wondering whether he should follow Antonio or stay at the cemetery like he always did.

Lovino huffed, remembering how lonely he was here. All the other spirits had either passed on to what he believed was heaven or hell, and he sat here, too scared to leave earth, but he felt too ignored to stay. What was the worst that could happen if he followed Antonio? For his ego's sake, nobody could see him.

Lovino's thoughts blew out of his mind with the wind when he heard the shrill squeak of the cemetery gate opening. He quickly pushed himself off of his headstone, and sprinted as fast as he could over to Antonio, before slipping through the gate and standing right behind Antonio.

Antonio looked right back up towards the sky whistling and walking towards his car, oblivious of Lovino following behind him like a lost puppy, panting.

After a couple steps, he stopped suddenly, and rummaged around in his pockets before pulling out a set of car keys and pressed a button, earning a honk from the car to warn him that it was unlocked.

Lovino narrowed his eyes as he watched for Antonio's next actions, still panting from running to him.

Antonio's face hardened into a suspicious look again, he swung open the door to his car and nervously looked around the parking lot, giving Lovino just enough time to slip into the car silently.

Realizing no one was there, Antonio sighed and shook his head as if in disapproval and plopped down in the car before slamming the door.

Nervous, Lovino wrung his hands and waited for Antonio's next move.

Antonio shoved his keys into the ignition and quickly pulled the parking break, before speeding out of the parking lot.

"Damn bastard. His driving has never changed!" Lovino grumbled, shooting a dark glare at the driver.


	3. Chapter 3

Antonio grinned a little wider as he pulled in to the pub parking lot, the break whining as he pulled the car to a stop. The hairs raised on his neck as he got an unnerving feeling of someone watching him. He nervously looked around for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Brushing it off as nothing, he pushed opened the door and stepped out. He casually walked over to the entrance of the pub taking in the homie feeling of the place, the streetlights creating a gentle glow over the lot, while the subtle flickering of one lamp made it somewhat eerie.

He swung open the door and stepped in before looking around the sea of people, some laughing, socializing, and drinking. But the whole place had a loud murmur of voices.

Antonio searched around the crowd, his emerald eyes flicking around nervously through the vast amount of people, before his eyes met with Gilbert's red ones. He brightened a little when Gilbert stopped gabbing to Francis and motioned for Antonio to sit down at their booth with a gentle wave.

Antonio plastered a dopey smile on his face and casually walked over and plopped down.

"Hey, so how's it going?!" Gilbert crowed loudly through chuckles. Embarrassed at how loud his companion was, Francis rubbed his temples and looked outside through the window.

Antonio knit his eyebrows together in a worried expression

"How many drinks has he had?"

Francis barely could give either of them a glance before he stated

"I've lost count." With a sigh.

Antonio suppressed a giggle, but he knew no matter how hard he tried, Francis could see that he was laughing. Francis replied with a look of distain, and both Gilbert and Antonio giggled.

"So what are you looking at?" Antonio asked with grin.

"Uh… Nothing, I just thought I saw something outside…" he said, a distant look framing his face, and Antonio became worried.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Gilbert talked over him.

"So Toni, where have you been today?" Gilbert asked, not seeming to care in his drunken state. Antonio's blood ran cold as he remembered that day's events, and a pang of sorrow filled his heart, but he tried to keep a smile. Francis quickly shot Gilbert a shocked look, and then gave Antonio a worried glance. The whole table fell to an awkward silence while Antonio struggled to find an answer that wouldn't betray his happiness.

"Uh, Just hanging out- I think I took a walk today- but mostly sitting around." He replied with a forced smile, hoping none of his friends would notice.

"Non," Francis said a sly grin plastered on his face. "you did something else, I know it."

Antonio gave a shocked look towards Francis and was pulled into silence as he decided whether or not to tell the truth.

He decided to go with his better judgement, Francis would probably later find out what was on his mind if he lied to him.

"I-uh, visited Lovi today, so I'm kinda down, but I'm okay!" he rambled.

Francis hummed in response and gave a slight nod, but Gilbert decided to put his two cents in.

"Toni- Kesesese- all you've got to do to get everything out of your head is-"

Just then, a bubbly waitress stopped by their table, nearly spilling the beer on her tray as she laughed, seeming almost drunk off of joy, and interrupted them.

"Here you guys go." She said while passing out the three beers to the trio. "Enjoy."

Antonio gave both Gilbert and Francis a questioning look, wondering whether the drinks were all for Gilbert, or if he bought them for everyone, considering beer was the only drink that he claimed was 'awesome' enough for him.

But neither of his friends seemed to notice his glances, and he decided to take it upon himself to ask even though he felt a little awkward.

"Uh, Gil?" he continued with a sheepish smile. "Who are these beers exactly for?"

"What does it look like?" he said sarcastically, handing out the beers, a drunken grin lazily hung on his face. Antonio didn't quite know how to react, so he just gave a slight "oh" and nodded.

"Anyway," Gilbert took a sip. "What you really need…" he broken into a chuckle "is a fuck buddy."

Francis choked on his drink, before slamming his glass on the table. Gilbert had said his explicit idea loud enough for a couple in the table right by them to hear, and give them glares. All Antonio could do was stare, a shocked expression over whelming his face and let his jaw drop.

"Gil, please…" Francis pleaded a visible frown on his face, but then he began to grin again "Your idea is good but please be more sensitive…" he began to laugh too.

Antonio gave a good natured smile and began to laugh, not sure whether to be offended or not.

He sipped his beer.

"Hey, I got an idea, and it's going to be awesome." Gilbert announced.

Francis and Antonio leaned forward in interest.

"Is this like your fuck buddy idea? Because if it is, I won't take part in it." Antonio giggled and Francis nodded with a grin in agreement.

"No, no, no." Gilbert denied "Unless you want to…" Gilbert chimed.

"Non, Gilbert, not today." Francis said with a grin and then mumbled something in French that was inaudible to Antonio, even if he did hear it though, he wouldn't understand it.

"Well, you know the junk shop I work at?" Gilbert was alluding to the antique store he worked at, and even though he hated it, money was money, no matter how you obtained it, at least that was what Gilbert said.

Francis and Antonio both nodded in unison.

"Well, we got this really awesome Ouija board-"Antonio tensed up in response and Gilbert instantly noticed.

"Hey! I haven't even finished my sentence yet and you are already freaking out! What the hell?!"

"Keep going…" Antonio replied in as smooth of a tone as he could.

"Well, I thought we could run over to the grave yard and try it out-"Francis tensed up as well. "- Unless you are too much of a pussy." Gilbert added at the end with a smirk for emphasis.

Francis's eyes widened in shock and Antonio searched his mind for a witty comeback, but all he could do was muster a nod so he wouldn't be labeled as a 'pussy'.

"Alright!" Gilbert cheered "Finish your drinks so we can get out of here!"

Francis gave a nervous glance towards Antonio and then shot a look at Gilbert, but Antonio couldn't tell what emotion was in his eyes; it wasn't a glare, but neither was it a friendly look.

"Gil, we can't break into places like we did when we were in high school, we can get arrested now." Francis reasoned.

"I guess someone has admitted to being a pussy!" Gil pried in a singsong voice.

Francis gave an annoyed glare, which didn't seem to faze Gilbert, but continued to drink all of his beer, still glaring.

Antonio quickly nursed his cup and watched Francis do the same.

They all stepped out of the booth before slipping through the throng of people and out of the door, Antonio nervously looking around the whole time wondering whether Gilbert had paid for the drinks, or if they had just dine-and-dashed.

 **Quick Note: The song I used in chapter 1 is called "I Don't Care If You're Contagious" by Pierce the Veil. I will base this story off of the song so it would be great if you checked it out! Also, most of the supernatural parts and lore of this fic I base off of my own memories of ghost stories I was told as a kid, if you have any ghost stories or input about ghosts or your beliefs I would love to hear it, as I don't believe in ghosts or any kind of power of that sort, but I need more lore to add into this story to create more complex issues. As always, I am open to criticism and comments if you have any!**


	4. Chapter 4

The trio stepped out of the car and Antonio sprinted ahead, leaving the other two in the dust, and he began shaking the cemetery gate, only to be greeted by the rattle of the chain and lock.

"Well, it's locked! So we don't can't go in, at least not tonight, but let's never try again on another night…" He rambled with a sheepish smile.

"Toni," Gilbert huffed while hugging the Ouija board closer to himself. "If you push the gate forward you can slip through the gap between the gate and the fence." He reasoned.

"Wouldn't it be easier to jump the fence?" Francis said while motioning towards the stomach-high chain-link fence with a smirk.

"Oh…" Gilbert mumbled, as he slowly limbered towards the fence.

"Ladies first." He snickered while bowing before Francis and motioning for the fence.

Francis started to chuckle.

"Non, I think we know who the most feminine is here." He sneered. Antonio started laughing; he wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol talking, or if it was his strange sense of humor.

"Oh, dear me!" Antonio squeaked, attempting to imitate a female's voice. "I appear to be the most feminine one!"

He started flexing while he said it, ironically proving his masculinity.

"Oh my ma'm! You may go first!" Gilbert spoke through chuckles.

"What a gentleman!" Antonio chuckle with a smile and Gilbert beamed with a drunken grin.

Antonio threw his leg over the fence and swung his weight forward, stumbling over the fence. Gilbert's landing was even worse though. In his drunken haze his shoe lost it's grip on the chain link and he belly flopped on to the dirt of the grave yard. Antonio began dying of laughter and Gilbert shot him a glare, whilst Francis smirked on the other side.

The two awed at Francis, who gracefully leapt over the fence and finished it off with a lazy smile.

"You didn't even rattle the fence! You're like a ninja!" Gilbert raved.

"Yeah, well… That's what happens when your parents make you take ballet for five years…" he mumbled while grimacing, as if disgusted by this.

"Any who," he continued. "Where do you want to start? "

"Remember that chick you dated in senior year? Is her grave around here?" Gilbert asked with an obnoxious smile.

A worried expression overcame Francis's face and he began to wave his hands frantically.

"No, no, no! Joan's grave isn't in this grave yard, and even if it was, I wouldn't let you dirty it up!"

Gilbert stood up from his landing at the end of the fence, dusted the dirt off and laughed, and the trio began to walk aimlessly through the graveyard, Gilbert clutching the Ouija board.

"Wait! I know who was buried here!" Gilbert excitedly announced.

A shiver ran down Antonio's spine and his stomach dropped like he had swallowed a stone. He knew what graveyard they were in, but the disregard for the event that resulted in his boyfriend's death surprised and annoyed him.

"Gil, you're drunk as hell, and that's a bad idea." Antonio attempted to balance his voice, careful not to sound too angry.

Gilbert's happy demeanor deflated, and he huffed.

"Yeah, maybe…" Gilbert continued "But like, what if we set up everything, and it's real… and we have some awesome conversation with a ghost."

"It wouldn't be a conversation, just your imagination, isn't that just sad?" Francis sneered.

Gilbert gave an annoyed glare and looked deep in thought.

"Prove it!" He demanded.

Francis face changed from arrogant to bewildered, his mouth opened and closed as if too shocked to find words.

"What?" he finally choked out.

"You heard me! Prove it, unless you're too scared!" Gilbert's self-righteous smile plastered his face again.

Francis shot him a quick glare and snatched the board out of his hands.

"Fine! I'll do it just to show you how much of an ass you are being!"

"Alright, Antonio, where is Lovino's grave?" He asked, attempting to give a kind smile despite his mood.

"Um, well…" Antonio quickly searched his mind for an excuse. "Isn't it kinda disrespectful to try to communicate with the dead? Also, I, uh, don't really remember where Lovi's grave is…" He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"It's a little chilly out here don't you think? Maybe we should just go inside and forget about this." Antonio attempted to reason.

"Are you scared?" Gilbert sneered.

Antonio caved in against his own will, he really didn't want to mess around Lovino's grave, but he also didn't want to look as terrified as he felt.

He sent a silent prayer of apology, hoping that it would reach Lovino somehow.

"I'm not scared! And the grave is this way…" he added while pointing in the direction of the headstone.

"I can't see for shit, even with my awesome eyesight!" Gilbert grumbled.

"Here." Francis flatly stated while pulling out his phone and flicking on the camera.

Light pooled around them and Antonio could barely make out the gravestone a few meters away. The trio began to walk towards the grave, their footsteps against the grass the only sound in the quiet graveyard.

"Well…" Francis sighed while brushing any leaves away from the headstone before setting his phone on the ground for a light source.

The trio sat in a semicircle facing the grave, and Antonio attempted to swallow all of his fear in preparation for events that might occur. He flicked his cautious gaze among his two friends, searching for some sort of reassurance in eye contact.

"Are you ready for this?" Gilbert asked with a grin.

Antonio swallowed the lump in his throat and choked out a "Yes.", while Francis gave a quick nod.

Gilbert dropped the Ouija board in front of them, his smile growing wider as he rummaged through his pocket for the game piece.

Antonio attempted to calm himself by listening for crickets or some kind of nightly ambience, but only the heavy, earie, spine-chilling silence greeted him, making every raged breath Gilbert took deafening as it mixed with Antonio's pounding heart.

Gilbert laid out the piece and grinned in triumph, and Francis sighed loudly in annoyance and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, put your hands on the piece." Gilbert instructed.

Antonio did as was instructed, putting both hands on the game piece while Francis and Gilbert only put in one. He gave his friends a confused look, he was pretty sure he said hands not hand.

"One hand, smartass…" Gilbert said while slapping his free hand over his face.

Antonio quickly removed his left hand from the board and gave an apologetic smile.

"Whoops…"

"Just start already!" Francis shouted.

"Fine…." Gilbert said while moving the piece to the _Hello_.

Antonio closed his eyes tight in fear, preparing himself for the inevitable. He looked down expecting the worse.

And he saw **_nothing._**

Nothing had moved, nothing had changed, everything was in it's exact place. Gilbert gave all of them a dumbfounded look, while Francis began to smile.

"See? I was right!" He laughed.

Gilbert angrily glared at Francis, while Antonio picked up the game piece and studied it, turning the piece around in his hands. Curious, he looked through the hole in the piece, but to his disappointment he saw nothing of interest.

After a couple minutes they began to pack up and walk back to the car.

"Well… That sucked." Gilbert said while carelessly tossing the board in the back seat and sitting down next to it.

"You bet it did." Francis agreed with a laugh as he plopped down in the passenger seat.

Antonio hummed in agreement while putting his keys in the ignition.

Antonio watched in silence as Gilbert and Francis walked into the bar, smiling and waving at him while he did the same behind the wheel in the driver's seat.

He began to back the car up, looking out the rearview mirror for any traffic in the parking lot. He saw a flicker of movement i the backseat and slams on the breaks, looking to the left side of the backseat he only sees the Ouija board Gilbert must have left behind; he then looked to the right and nearly screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

The figure had a finger up his nose and appeared to be deep in thought; he was glancing out the window and didn't seem to notice Antonio, until Antonio began to scream.

The figure whipped his head around towards the source of the screaming and began to scream too.

"HOLY FUCK!" the figure cried in a familiar voice. Antonio began to search his mind, thinking about whom the voice might belong to. In the darkness of his car, he could only make out the vaporous outline of the figure.

Still screaming, Antonio turned the lights on inside his car; he began to stare in awe.

"Lovi?" He choked out.

"Wait, you can see me?" he questioned.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Antonio asked trying to mask the hurt he felt. There was a high chance that this was a set-up carefully skewed together by Francis and Gilbert, but they rarely went that far.

"W-what do you mean?" He sputtered in what seemed to be anger and confusion.

"Francis and Gil probably set you up for this, huh amigo?"

The man just opened and closed his mouth, at a loss for words.

"I'll give you some credit; you look a lot like Lovi…" He narrowed his eyes at the stranger. "Are you his brother?"

"Antonio, what the hell!? You can't tell the difference between me and my brother?!" He snarled.

All Antonio could give was a shocked expression.

"Ah-ha! So you **can't** tell the difference between my brother and I! I fucking knew it!" he accused.

"Lovi! It is you!" Antonio chimed with a smile, barely believing the sight before him. "You're dead though!" he added with a slight tone of anger.

"I'm going crazy!" Antonio yelled. "I finally lost my marbles."

"What's that supposed to mean, jackass?" He spat.

"You're dead thought! Why are you here? Are you here to haunt me in some kind of phantom form until I die, never to be at peace with your death?" Antonio was on the verge of yelling at the end, trying to tell himself that the figure before him was a figment of his imagination. Maybe he hit his head really hard in the crash and it took a while to get to him. Or maybe this whole day was just imaginary, just like the man in the backseat.

"Jesus Christ, calm down with the dramatics!" Lovino hissed. "But, yes, I think I am a ghost…. I think."

"Jeeze, no need to be so mean!" Antonio reassured, still questioning his mental state.

"Don't tell me how to live my life!" Lovino defended.

"You're a ghost!" Antonio deadpanned. He was actually scared now; the apparition seemed too life-like to be imaginary, and he saw a look of pain on Lovino's face, but it quickly flashed to a smug expression.

"Hey, this is like my second life, you should be jealous!"

Antonio smiled a little at Lovino's comment and began to chuckle, while starting the car.

"It really is you, Lovi." He said under his breath.

"Damn right it is." Lovino agreed out loud.

Antonio pulled the car out of the parking lot and began driving. He put his hand on the button for the radio, but didn't push it; instead he decided to get some answers from his backseat passenger.

"I'm coming with you to your house; I've got nowhere to stay." Lovino interjected.

"Where you staying somewhere else or did you just-" Antonio search for the right words to say. " _Appear_ today?"

"I didn't just fucking 'appear _'_! I had to drag my sorry ass to my own funeral; do you know how depressing that is?! To watch your brother cry over you but you can't speak to him, and he can't even see you?! I had to follow my cold corpse from the accident all the way to the grave!" Lovino growled.

"Oh Dios Mios! I-I'm sorry Lovi!" Antonio's head flourished with questions, all asking about Lovino's existence. But, the thought of the car accident felt like a stone in his stomach; all he felt was guilt.

He brushed the thoughts off and began to ask further.

"But, why can I see you now and why are you still here? Not that I have a problem with it though, but shouldn't you be, you know, _passed on_?"

"Fuck me if I knew." Lovino grimaced.

"But you should know, shouldn't you? Isn't it your job or something?"

"I didn't even want this job!" Lovino huffed. "They don't even hand you a damn pamphlet or anything! It's just a 'Surprise! You' re dead!' kind of deal!"

"Well, that kind of sucks." Antonio commented while turning the wheel to pull into apartment spaces.

Lovino just huffed in response and opened the car door as they began to get out.

"Wait, can other people see you? Does it look like I've been talking to myself this whole time?" Antonio asked with a frown. He wasn't too worried about his reputation, but he didn't want his neighbors to think he was a madman.

"Do I look like google to you?" Lovino snapped back, slowly limbering behind Antonio.

"That's a great idea!" Antonio said whilst climbing the stairs.

"What?" Lovino questioned with sincere confusion on his face.

Antonio stopped at the top of the outdoor stairwell and opened his mouth to elaborate, but when he looked down the stairs at Lovino the words he needed eluded him.

Lovino seemed luminous in the dimly lit stairwell, his eyes seemed brighter than the stars, but his annoyed expression, which was slowly worsening, seemed to dull them.

"What?!" He asked again, this time with a loud and snarky tone.

Antonio quickly pulled his train of thought together, hopelessly trying to come up with the words he was going to say.

"Uh…. We could go on the internet for answers…" Antonio replied.

"Oh yeah, sure, random people on the internet will know exactly what we are talking about." Lovino spat sarcastically while climbing the steps to meet Antonio at the top.

"Well, it's worth a shot." Antonio mumbled as he began walking towards his apartment door, the floor boards squeaking under his weight.

He began to unlock the door, making eye contact with Lovino, who nervously looked around. Why exactly was Lovino glowing, and why was he so nervous? Was he hiding something?

"What?!" Lovino spat, his glare burning through Antonio.

Antonio searched through his mind trying to figure out the words to say. Was it really okay to point out if Lovino glowed?

"Your skin is…. Uh, glowing…" Antonio mumbled while pulling the door open and stepping back to let Lovino in the apartment.

"Yeah, I know." Lovino sighed. "It's just the light coming through, it's pretty damn weird."

"Uh, yeah." Antonio agreed while turning on the lights of the apartment. Lovino gasped a little and panic ascended onto Antonio.

"What's wrong?" He asked quickly.

"Erm, Nothing" Lovino said while walking inside, the dim light of the apartment making Lovino look smoke-like and opaque.

It was Antonio's turn to be slightly nervous; he was becoming more aware of how much of a mess his apartment was. Was that dirty laundry always in his hallway? Did Lovino gasp at the clutter of his abode, or was it something he did? The idea of confronting Lovino about it seemed too awkward in this situation; after all, Antonio was pretty sure he was just talking to a figment of his own imagination.

"Are you hungry? I've got leftovers in the fridge…" Antonio offered, attempting to be polite.

"I can't eat, if I could though, I'd eat the entirety of your refrigerator." Lovino flatly stated.

Antonio's eyes widened in realization "Oh, it's a part of your whole dea-"

Lovino cut him off. "Yeah."

Antonio gave an understanding nod and began to walk towards the kitchen, a smile plastered on his face while Lovino followed behind him; he then pulled the fridge open.

"Well, I'm going to grab some food and look on google to research some of-" he motioned to Lovino, who was perched on top of a counter on the opposite side of the small kitchen. "Whatever this is, go ahead and make yourself at home."

"Fine." Lovino sighed and walked out of the kitchen.

Antonio began to look through his refrigerator, but slowly became annoyed. There was barely anything to eat; the flickering lightbulb shed light upon a half full gallon of milk, and a top shelf littered with white take-out boxes. The neighborhood restaurants probably owned a large share of his bank account by the looks of his fridge.

Antonio popped a box open and looked at it and squinted in a mixture of disgust and cluelessness. What exactly had harbored this box at one point? It vaguely looked like some kind of rice, but it was at such a stage in it's decomposition that it resembled maggots. Antonio wondered when the last time he even had rice was. Days? Weeks? From the looks of it maybe even months?

The sound of the TV playing rang through the tiny apartment and Antonio quickly threw away the box, along with his thoughts surrounding the box, into the trashcan that sat to the right of the fridge.

He pulled another box out for his dinner roulette, but was pleased to find half of a burger and some fries; a decent score.

He padded out of the kitchen and to the living room with his food, before picking his computer up off of his messy coffee table and plopping down on the couch next to Lovino who was focused on the TV screen. He opened his laptop and then began his search.


	6. Chapter 6

Lovino looked around; he didn't know where he was, and his stomach was in knots. He swallowed the lump in his throat along with the feeling of spewing and took in the surroundings.

He was surrounded by darkness and cold air, which he shivered to in response. The only light he had was the flashlight in his hand and the full moon shinning above. The toes of his shoes were scraping on the edge of an intersection, where he stood by a small pile of dirt. It was silent as the night; no cars road across, and no wind rustled the leaves in the nearby woods to break the silence. The chill wasn't the only thing that made him shiver.

What the fuck was he doing here? Had he walked here? Had he become some kind of pass out drunk? Has he had anything to drink? Also, where is _here_?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard twigs crackle across the street. Terrified and confused, he quickly shined the flashlight in the direction of the noise and squinted to look at it.

Bright red eyes squinted back from the bushes, and Lovino couldn't hold back a scream.

He woke up screaming, confused with his eyes closed and cold sweat dripping down his face. Something was wrapping his body and he thrashed harder before opening his eyes.

He stopped panicking when he realized where he was, apparently strewn out on Antonio's couch. A gray wool blanket was tangled in his legs and he realized he didn't have it when he fell asleep, so that meant Antonio put it there. What a dope.

Lovino stretched out and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands and let his eyes adjust. He groggily got off the couch, pulled the blanket over his shoulders, and looked around the apartment.

Sure, the apartment wasn't in the best shape it had been in, but it kind of reminded Lovino of Antonio's current appearance: a little messy, worn, and a lot of melancholy.

In fact, the whole place seemed washed out, like a painting worn by age. The off white walls looked almost gray, and the forest green armchair and couch looked dull. The worst part was that the very same room used to be so full of life and color, but now it seemed to be rotting away like the scattered take-out boxes on the coffee table, and it rubbed Lovino the wrong way. It felt like the tiny apartment got an attitude change, a little like it's owner. It wasn't a good attitude, but it wasn't a bad one either, Lovino couldn't put his finger on it though.

Speaking of the apartment's owner and attitudes, where the hell was Antonio?

Lovino looked around the room blankly before spotting a piece of paper on the laptop on the coffee table, and something was scribbled on it. Lovino picked it up and read it out loud.

 _ **Lovino,**_

 _ **I'm at work. I will be back at 5 with food.**_

 _ **-Antonio**_

Lovino rolled his eyes. He should have known.

He then realized a better question, what time was it exactly? He decided he could check on the computer. He drug his index finger along the touch pad on the laptop to pull it out of it's sleep mode. The screen lit up and displayed the desktop, and Lovino took no time to look through Antonio's computer.

Soundcloud was open, but minimized, and a google chrome page was in the same state. The Soundcloud window didn't mean anything to him, but the chrome tab piped up his curiosity. What did Antonio look at yesterday on his computer?

Lovino quickly expanded the google chrome tab and looked at the webpage before him. It was just google, which didn't bother him. But what set him off was what was typed in the search bar. Hunched down over the laptop, the light coloring his cloak-like blanket, he decided to read it aloud.

"Brain defects that cause hallucinations of people." Lovino grew angry. Why the fuck did Antonio think Lovino was a hallucination?

Enraged, Lovino slammed the laptop shut, forgetting about his time ordeal, and slammed his body back down on the couch.

He leaned forward and plucked the remote off of the coffee table, before turning on the TV. Lovino began switching through channels, trying to focus in on the screen, or at least who was fucking who on a soap opera. Honestly, he couldn't pay attention. It wasn't that he didn't have the capability to pay attention to the show, but the thought of Antonio not even believing his existence nagged him.

He sighed and emptily stared at the tv, looking at nothing in particular.

He grunted out loud to no one in particular, a mixture of frustration and a little bit of of sadness too. It was kind of disappointing that Antonio didn't believe Lovino was there, Lovino knew he was there, at least he was pretty sure of it. He didn't really expect Antonio to be really that open minded about it, but he didn't expect him to be this dense. Talking to Antonio was like starting a conversation with a brick wall, or maybe a very dense bowl of oatmeal, it was damn near impossible to get something through to him, kind of like a spoon through oatmeal.

But normally he was a little more open minded than this, he did seem nervous about Gilbert's hocus-pocus Ouija board plan, so he had to believe in ghosts, or at least some form of spirit. Maybe it was his own way of reasoning with himself, like if he tells himself it's not real, it won't be (or at least in his point of view).

Lovino felt very real, even though he could no longer feel a pulse, he felt more alive than ever. Hell, he'd slept in a graveyard for the past few days, if the cold hadn't made his bones shake, than it was the eeriness of the place.

Still, there wasn't enough proof for Antonio. Maybe he could tell him information that only they knew, like first date, birthdays, and weird things they always do. But the million dollar question was "Would Antonio take that as proof? Or would he still be in denial?"

He heard the jingle of keys attempting to unlock the door behind him, and he shot his head around to glare at it. His glare was met with Antonio's sunny expression as he stuck his head in the door comically.

"I'm home!" He announced while stepping inside. He handed Lovino a grocery bag, a big red 'Thank You' printed on the front, and smiled.

"Hey can you hold this?" Lovino didn't even get a chance to nod back, he just took the bag and sat on the couch. Antonio began slipping of his black dress shoes and rolling up his sleeves on his white button up. He then leaped over the back of the couch and slammed down next to Lovino.

The bounce of the couch shuffled the bag to the point that Lovino fumbled and nearly dropped it.

"Where were you?" He asked, his glare still present.

"Oh? You didn't see my note?" Antonio answered with a question. He pulled the bag out of Lovino's hands and ripped it open, splitting the red lettering in half and exposing the little white take-out boxes bellow the thin plastic.

"Well, yeah... I did" Lovino quietly mumbled, his hostility getting him nowhere.

Antonio's eyes wondered from where they met with Lovino's and gave a glance at the T.V.

"What 'cha watching?" He asked, his stare still glued to the television and flicking over the advertisements playing. Lovino still couldn't focus but he was pretty sure it was something about lunch meat, not the usual 'My bologna has a first name' but something with a family eating together.

"Nothing really... you can turn it if you want." he flatly stated.

Antonio plucked the remote of the table and began mashing buttons to change channels.

"did you use my computer, Lovi?" Antonio asked, his signature obtuse smile on his face. "What'd you do on it?"

Lovino could almost physically hold himself back, he could feel the anger boiling in the bottom of his stomach and the growl vibrate in the back of his throat.

"The better question is what the hell **you** were doing on the computer!" he spat.

Antonio choked on his food a little and was trying to stop himself from coughing, but continued to sputter.

"What?" He wheezed.

"You know exactly what I am talking about, don't play dumb with me, jerk. It's your computer and you sat over there almost all night clicking away at that god-forsaken electronic. Don't think you're getting off with a simple 'what'. " Lovino ranted. Antonio sunk in his seat and hung his head.

"I'm... uh...sorry." Lovino could feel the guilt that drenched Antonio, it practically radiated off the man. "it's just that it all doesn't seem to be real, just last week I thought you were dead..." He peaked back up at Lovino through his chestnut locks. "You understand,right?"

"Like hell I understand, Antonio! Have a little faith in me will you?" Lovino instantly regretted his cutting tone, it made Antonio shrink even more, if that was possible.

"Well, I want to but I..." Antonio looked at him, his green eyes widening,.

"But you what?" Lovino growled while crossing his arms.

"I just... don't know." Antonio whispered the last part, slightly choking on his words a little, like he wasn't quite sure how it would effect Lovino.

Lovino sighed and rubbed his temples, his amber glare never leaving Antonio.

"So, you're telling me, after all this time of me moving shit around and being able to carry on conversations and actually be fucking visible to you, you still think I'm just some imaginary bullshit your brain came up with." Lovino ranted. Honestly, he couldn't contain his anger, you could probably light a cigarette on his temper. He might as well be a fucking bonfire.

"Well... it sounds bad when you say it out loud..." Antonio mumbled.

"Damn right it sounds bad when you say it out loud!" Lovino lowly spat

"If it makes you feel any better, I found a place downtown that can help us." Antonio smile returned a little, but it wasn't in it's full state it usually was in.

"It better not be a psych ward. " Lovino commented, still trying to regain some type of cool composure after his outburst. Sure, Antonio not believing in him sucked, but fighting with him really got him no where.

"Uh, it's not really like that, it's kinda hard to explain, but we can go there after I eat!" Antonio bounced a little in happiness.

"Uh, sure." Lovino agreed quietly.

Antonio began quickly shoving fried rice into his mouth and effectively making the biggest mess Lovino had ever seen a human being make while eating.

 **Hey! Sorry for the late update, I don't really have an update schedule to go by, so I just kinda write spuradically, oh well.**


	7. Chapter 7

"What the actual hell is this place?"Lovino asked looking up at a rusted sign, barely hung on by a couple screws. The door to the place was in a alley that gave him bad vibes. The whole place seemed to be operating under a shoe string, as everything seemed shoddy and falling apart. The paint peeled off the painted brick and the sign read 'Spiritual Curiosities' in badly scribbled cursive.

"It's the place I was talking about! It doesn't look that great on the outside, sure, but it looked really good online." Antonio replied sheepishly while scratching the back of his neck.

"The yelp reviews won't save this place" Lovino grumbled.

"Silly Lovi, yelp reviews are for restaurants." Antonio chuckled while rubbing Lovino's hair good-naturedly.

"well, what fucked up dark side of the internet did you find this place?" Lovino peeled Antonio's hand off his head with a scowl.

"Uh..." Antonio's eyes shot around the dark alley nervously , like he was quickly looking for an answer and he could find it somewhere in the dark. "That's not important right now."

"No, where did you find this place?" Lovino cut in.

"Well, it's Francis's ex's sister's shop, but I found the actual address to this place online ." Antonio explained while opening the door to the shop, the little bell ringing.

Lovino squinted at him, like he was trying to get on the same brainwaves as Antonio, like a radio trying to get a good signal.

"I don't need to know the entire story." Lovino mumbled while rolling his eyes and slipping in the door behind Antonio, nearly getting closed in it.

"Thanks for opening the door for me, bastard." Lovino grumbled sarcastically while glaring up at Antonio.

"I'm sorry, but nobody can really see you, and I kinda don't wanna..." Antonio paused towards the end."Look insane."

Lovino huffed in response and glared at the store before him.

The industrial fluorescent lights flickered and hummed, some blown out and some still glowing left the place slightly dark. The isles where littered with items like crystal balls, voodoo dolls, and books on items of the sort, all labeled and separated neatly by little wooden signs. The walls were covered with shelves littered with glass jars full of different herbs and ingredients.

Towards the back of the shop a ginger sat behind the counter, her piercing emerald eyes flicking over a giant leather-bound book. Antonio smiled and approached the desk, Lovino tailing behind him. He rang the bell on the desk and his smile grew as the annoying ring rang.

"I knew you were here, you didn't have to ring the bell." The girl snapped, her eyes not leaving the page. Antonio's smile faltered, but he still grinned.

"Sorry, I'm just here for special counseling." Antonio mumbled.

The girl lifted her eyes from the book and flicked a piece of sandy ginger hair from her eyes.

"You don't seem to be that troubled..." She grumbled while turning a page, her eyes falling bag down to the manuscript and minute drawings of different herbs on the page.

"Uh, actually I am, and you're the only person in the area who would be able to help me." Antonio physically forced out a polite reply, and Lovino chuckled. This woman seemed to be the only woman in existence to actually annoy Antonio slightly, it wasn't like Lovino wanted to be on his shit list, but he found the woman's fiery temper hilarious, and Antonio's reaction even better.

"Have you tried a priest?" She sighed.

"Well, I don't think a priest could help me with this." Antonio continued.

"This?" Lovino scoffed but Antonio gave no reaction.

The girl leaned forward and closed her book, making a large sound echo throughout the whole store.

"What do you have that's so strange a priest can't handle it?" She asked.

Antonio sighed a little, but continued to hold his composure.

"It's kinda hard to explain..." He mumbled while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Lovino realized the conversation was going nowhere and sighed, he knew the woman couldn't see him, but Antonio's air-headedness wasn't getting them anywhere. It was time to take matters into his own hands. He plucked a book from one of the isles and padded over to the front counter where he set it down.

The girl's thick eyebrow rose sky-high in surprise. "That book just levitated." She calmly stated. "What the hell did you bring into my shop!?" She snapped.

"Uh... My friend." Antonio tripped over his words.

"Friend?!" Lovino seethed and slapped him over the head with the same book he had set down.

"Ow! Sorry!" Antonio said, while the girl just gave a bewildered look.

"He's dead." Antonio calmly said, the girl blinked again.

"He seems to be haunting me, and only I can see him do things." Antonio explained. "Sounds weird, huh?"

"Eh, I've worked with a case like this before." The red-head commented while standing up and crossing her arms.

"Oh really?" Antonio asked dumbfounded, and Lovino chuckled at his facial expression. The man had went to a professional and expected a beginner.

Lovino sat on the counter and watched the woman closely. There was something about her emerald eyes that reminded him of Antonio, they had the same deep kindness, though her's was hidden. Her's had a hardness to them, like a knife cutting through you, while Antonio's were soft and easy.

"I need to ask you a few questions though." The woman's head leaned forward as she spoke and Lovino had to move back a little so their heads wouldn't bump.

"Uh, okay." Antonio complied with his eyebrows knit worriedly.

"When did all of this start?" She leaned onto the counter and propped her head up with her elbow.

"Well..." Antonio mumbled while scratching his chin. "A day or two ago..."

The girl gave a shocked expression and stood up once more.

"Intriguing, you came for help early in your haunting." She commented.

"Is there a problem with that?" Antonio asked, confusion lacing his voice. Lovino could tell from afar that he was nervous, he kept tapping his feet and flicking his eyes everywhere.

"No, not really. It's just kind of unusual." She grinned and chuckled, while Antonio made an 'o' with his mouth.

"So any who," her eyes flicked over to Lovino's book on the counter "What were you doing before the haunting started?"

"Well, I went out with my friends." Antonio explained.

"OK"

"And we were drinking and talking."

"alright"

"Damnit! You guys had a Ouija board, tell her that!" Lovino grumbled, trying to make the conversation run a little faster. Hell, he was pretty sure if he weren't here, the whole story would take all night, maybe till next week.

"Oh! We used a Ouija board!" Antonio added. The girl's eyes widened and she covered her mouth.

"You did what?!" She snapped, her eyebrows knitting into concern more than anger and Antonio visibly shrank. "Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"Well, yeah..." Antonio scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and Lovino laughed at the sight.

"No, not even some professionals would dare to even do that, why would you do it?" The red-head grumbled.

"Well, my friend Gilbert said it was a good idea..." Antonio reasoned quietly. The girl just groaned and rubbed her temples in frustration before brightening.

"Alright, anyway..." She sighed. "How did it go?

"Well, nothing really happened. I mean we tried everything, and nothing happened." Antonio explained.

"Okay."

"So we looked at the board and everything, but we're pretty sure it's a dud." Antonio continued.

"Wait, you looked at the board?" The girl asked, narrowing her eyes.

Well, yeah... but we saw nothing, at least nothing out of the ordinary..."

"Yes, but did you look through the piece?" The girl cut in.

"What piece? The board has more pieces?" Antonio rambled while Lovino facepalmed.

"No, the main triangle piece." She sighed. "Did you look through it at all?"

"Well yeah, but what does that have to do with the haunting?"

"Well, that explains everything!" The girl smiled and began looking under the counter and digging around before pulling out a small triangular Ouija board piece. Tiny scratches were littered around the piece and it was burned black in some areas, Lovino rose an eyebrow at that, what exactly had this woman used this piece for? He was pretty sure the marks weren't from any kind of cat or small animal.

She put it up to her eye and looked right at Lovino, he felt like her eyes were staring right through him. The girl jumped a little in shock when she looked at Lovino, and he did the same.

 **The girl is supposed to be Aph Ireland, there isn't really a good official thing about her/him, but I thought I'd put her in the story anyway, just because I felt like it. Reviews are always appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

"So this is your friend?" The girl motioned towards Lovino.

"Yeah, sadly, I am." Lovino groaned and rubbed his temple.

"This took an unnecessary amount of time..." The girl mumbled while putting the piece on the counter and plopping back down in her chair.

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"Well, my brother was actually blessed with a gift." The girl explained and Lovino watched her toy with a wavy lock and look at the ground. "He thinks it's a bloody curse though." She grumbled.

"Uh, but what was it?" Antonio cut in, his eyebrows knit. The girl leaned back in her chair and propped her feet on the desk, revealing her loosely tied sneakers littered with different symbols written on the soles and sighed. Lovino stared down at them, but couldn't figure out what it really meant, it wasn't Italian, that's for sure. The girl was mysterious, though, and her sneakers proved the point, but who was Lovino to complain? At least she could see him, maybe that was the next step in solving whatever his predicament was.

"Err, It's hard to explain, but my brother is exceptional at seeing things that aren't visible to the naked eye..." She mumbled.

"Like germs?" Antonio cut in, and Lovino, once again, pondered the brain activity of the man standing to his right. Do his neurons connect at all? Or are they just dead ends?

"No, more spiritual..." The girl corrected and Antonio's eyes widened a little. "My brother, Arthur, is pretty damn good at seeing, conjuring, and binding spirits, but he decided to pretend he wasn't, just so he could fit in in high school, but he graduated and he no longer needs pretend he someone he's not, but... oh well." The girl rambled a little and then proceeded to let out the most jarring yawn Lovino had ever heard in his life. How could something that sounded like a dying whale come from someone who looked like a siren. He decided to save that thought for later use, though.

"Anyhow, it's getting late so I better look up the solution for your problem." The girl chuckled and kicked her feet of the desk before standing up.

She strode over to the bookshelf along the wall and began plucking books off the shelf and flipping through them. "So, If I'm not being too rude, would you mind giving me a name?" The girl said, throwing a book back on the shelf and continuing her search.

"It's Lovino, but I could ask the same from you, bella." Lovino decided to up his charm, sure he was never going to probably talk to this girl again, but it doesn't hurt to try and make her feel special.

"Oh, it's Bridget, but that's not important. I need your name because a spirit's power can come from it's name." She explained and Lovino deflated a little, but still attempted to hold his smile, even though he could feel it falling slowly.

"Well, okay, but did you find the book?" Lovino grumbled, a little annoyed by the girl's dismissal of his comment. The girl shook her head in disappointment and Lovino sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"Well," She explained while thumbing through a book. "This will take a little while, unless you'd like to help too." She slammed the book close and crammed it back in, not even looking at Lovino when she said it.

Lovino just huffed and began sorting through books on the shelf right next to her, what was even the point of doing this?

"What book are you even looking for?" Lovino asked, still attempting to make himself look busy and polite. Multitasking was hard.

"Well, I do think it was _Spirits of Religion_ , but I'm not a hundred percent." she explained while thumbing through another book, the edges of it burnt and frayed.

"Is that some kind of new age crap?" Lovino joked while crossing his arms. Well, he tried to say it as a joke but really it came off as a complaint. Emphasis on "tried".

"Is this it?" Antonio asked while holding a book with the exact same tittle in his hands.

"Actually, yes, it is." The girl replied while setting books back on the shelf. "Where did you find it?"

"It was the book Lovino hit me with." Antonio smiled still ushering the book towards her. Of course it was the same book.

"Well," She said while flipping through the pages frantically and squinting at the text. "what's your religion or faith?"

"Uh, Catholic." Lovino answered while peeking over her shoulder to look at the pages.

"Alright," she continued while skimming over a page. "It gives us a few options."

"what are they?" Antonio asked while leaning to her side to read over her shoulder too.

"You may not like them very much." Bridget explained while looking over her shoulder at Lovino, and he could feel her eyes burn through him as she looked him right in the face.

"Okay, but at least we'll have some fucking options." Lovino lowly replied, though he quickly tripped up on his words. He didn't mean to curse in front of her, it just slipped out.

"Well, do you want the easy was, or the hard way?" She continued while ignoring Lovino's language, she didn't even flinch.

"Well if I were to pick, I'll go with the eas-"

"The right way." Antonio cut in, nearly yelling into Bridget's ear.

"What? What the fuck do you mean the 'right' way?" Lovino began. "There is no 'right way' to this shit, I'm damn sure I'm in some kind of loop-hole purgatory with no way to get ou-"

"Well, the right way may be the hardest for both of you." The red-head ominously interrupted, her eyes still glued to the book.

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked with a puzzled look.

"Well according to here," Bridget began running her finger along the text. "revenge is what really lingers in Lovino's soul, and-"

It was finally Lovino's turn to interrupt.

"No it isn't." He cut in, trying to prove this point would be impossible, but he wouldn't turn down a chance to add his two cents.

"-Anyway, if Lovino wouldn't deny it, you could seek revenge on whoever wronged him, and then his soul may pass." She continued.

"Okay, but I don't even remember who hit us, and I'm not denying anything!" Lovino argued.

"Actually, it was on the police reports." Antonio butt in, a proud smile lit up his face. "We could probably get them from the station, or maybe the court."

"Well," Bridget's thick eyebrows knitted together. "it's ideal morally,but it's the last part that will probably get you."

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked, his expression mirroring Bridget's, but his had a little more confusion blended in.

"Well, actually, Lovino would... you know, _pass on_." Lovino gulped thickly as Bridget spoke. "Either to heaven, or _hell_." The last part echoed in Lovino's head, nearly hammering into skull. Hell? _Hell_? He wasn't too much of a saint, but the idea of going to hell shook him to his bones. He'd threatened to take people, or see them there, or even told them to go there, but all of the threats were empty. He could barely even comprehend the idea of spending the rest of eternity rotting away.

"No." He barely whispered, trying to choke out a response through the rising bile in his throat.

"What?" Antonio asked.

"Like hell I'm going to rot alone in hell because my stupid jerk boyfriend." Lovino grumbled and watched Bridget raise an eyebrow.

"Well," She sighed while flipping through her book. "we do have a another option though, if you really want to pursue it."

"What is it?" Antonio asked while running his hands through his hair. Even though Antonio hadn't said it out loud, Lovino could tell that Antonio's patience was wearing a little thin and Lovino felt bad for lashing out.

"It really might do more harm than good, but it involves making a deal with dark forces." She calmly stated.

"What do you mean by 'Deals with dark forces?'" Lovino asked.

"So, how do you feel about crossroads?" Bridget averted, her eyes squinting to accommodate her huge coy grin.

"Oh no! I'm not going to be the summoner of some shit-holed demon from some cold dark pit of hell!" Lovino half grumbled, half shouted.

"Well, what are the other options?" Antonio asked, rubbing his forehead like he had the migraine of the year, but he still held a slight smile to his face.

"There isn't any other ones, and frankly," She yawned loudly "it's getting pretty late and it's past closing time."

"What?" Antonio asked, his eyebrows knit so tight together in confusion that they looked like they were pinching his forehead.

"Well, I mean, let's call this one a night, and you can go home and think about your options." She began twisting her red strands around her finger, "And, when you feel like it, you can comeback and we can make a decision."

Lovino huffed at her condescending tone, but nonetheless, she was right. Both Antonio and Lovino had different views on the whole thing, and doing something they didn't agree upon my keep him on earth, at least he thought so.

"So," Bridget began while padding through an aisle, Lovino awkwardly following behind while Antonio stayed a few steps away. "Have a nice night, and come back when you think you're ready."

With that she quickly ushered Lovino and Antonio out the door and closed it. The lock on the door clicked and Lovino knew exactly what that meant; he'd have to wait till tomorrow to do anything drastic.

 _Hey! I'm currently working on this story and I'm not dead! I feel like it though. Actually, going back to school has really fucked me up, so I never actually get things done during the school year, but granted I never got anything done over the summer. Anywho, I kinda wanted to apologize for taking a long time to update this shit show, so hopefully updates will be kind of on track._


	9. Chapter 9

Lovino slammed himself down into the seat and crossed his arms childishly. He knew he looked like a angry four year old, but that didn't stop him from pouting.

"Well," Antonio continued while lightly sitting down in the driver's seat. "at least we have a general idea..."

"Not really, that was kind of a waste of time." Lovino grumbled while looking out the window, not even holding eye contact with Antonio who he knew was staring right at Lovino. Antonio's hand wondered over Lovino's seat to his shoulder and Lovino pulled back from the window.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lovino asked while pushing Antonio's hand away.

"Trying to put your seat belt on." Antonio defended, while his smile deflated into an awkward wince.

"That didn't help the first time, what makes you think it'll work now?" Lovino snapped, but he instantly regretted it when Antonio gave a hurt look and pulled his hand away.

"I'm really sorry, I'm being a dick." Lovino quickly grumbled. He didn't mean to say it, but it slipped out anyway; and he could feel the guilt sinking in to his stomach.

"It's fine" Antonio murmured, his gaze emptily clutching onto the steering wheel like his hands were. He kept staring emptily and Lovino felt even worse with every drawn second, and the silence felt deafening.

"It's my fault." Antonio cut the silence.

"What are you talking about?" Lovino asked quietly, his throat feeling like a desert. This conversation was never one he wanted to bring out, but it was too late, the baggage had been unpacked.

"If I would've watched the road for once we wouldn't be in this situation, and you wouldn't be gone." Antonio's hurt gaze awkwardly shuffled to meet Lovino's, and then quickly moved back to the wheel.

"That's bullshit." Lovino half snarled—half choked, trying to force his voice even though he could feel his voice shake a little from the situation.

Antonio turned his head to look at Lovino, his jade eyes hung with dark bags and his hair's loose waves becoming frizzy and dull when Lovino squinted. He hadn't really realized how shriveled and small Antonio looked until now. "What?"

"This isn't your fault or my fault, it's called a car _accident_ for a goddamn reason." Lovino sighed and tightened his arms where they sat crossed on his chest.

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"We just got fucking caught up in it. The universe's big 'fuck you', I guess..." Lovino mumbled, he was never one for deep conversations about the universe, but here he was having one. Antonio turned back to the wheel blankly and turned the keys in the ignition, but didn't shift off the parking break.

Lovino felt like the silence was swallowing him, but he held his straight face and looked out the window. He desperately wanted to seem focused on something outside, but he couldn't even see the dusky sky for all the streetlamps creating a reflection, and he heard Antonio's mouth open to say something.

"Could I just-" Lovino turned around to look at him motion for Lovino's seat belt.

"yeah." Lovino quietly mumbled and turned away when Antonio leaned over to buckle his seat belt, his face mere inches away from Lovino's turned face.

Antonio clutched his chin and pulled him to face Antonio, who bore a tight grin. He brushed Lovino's hair out of his face and Lovino could feel Antonio's breath tickle his brow, and his face felt like it was burning. Antonio pressed a quick kiss to Lovino's forehead and smiled when he pulled back.

"I'm sorry" Lovino sighed and rubbed the place where Antonio had kissed with the heel of his palm.

"It's okay." Antonio smiled and started the car."You want to go through a drive-through for dinner?"

"If you want to, I don't really have to eat all of that shit, it's not needed." Lovino explained through a grumble and messed with the sleeves on his shirt.

"Well, do you want something?" Antonio asked while motioning to a McDonald's sign on the right of the street.

"I guess a milkshake would be pretty fucking nice." Lovino mumbled. He actually hadn't eaten anything in a while, he didn't ever feel hungry though, so he didn't feel the need to. But, the thought of something that tasted good brightened his mood a little.

"Okay, if that's what you want." Antonio smiled and pulled of to the side, the car bouncing as it pulled into the lot.

Lovino closed his eyes as they pulled into the drive-thru line and let sleep take him, Antonio could probably handle the order by himself.

oOo

Lovino nervously looked down at the wooden box in his hand, strange symbols carved each side of it, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He was more fixated on the small hole in the ground that sat before him, the one he was shining his flashlight on. The darkness pooled around him, but it was slightly split by a small beam of light.

Sadly, no mater where Lovino turned he couldn't see anything besides the darkness. It seemed to swallow everything whole, everything except the box and the small hole. The hole beckoned him, his own curiosity called him forward, but his feet froze with fear.

He was pulled out of the pool of darkness when he was shaken awake. The darkness still edged his vision, but It was mostly full of Antonio smiling down at him and holding open the car door while Lovino was still in his car seat.

"I was going to carry you inside but you're too heavy, trust me I've tried." Antonio blabbered while standing in the open car door.

"Fuck, what time is it?" Lovino grumbled while rubbing at his eyes with the palm of his hands. He removed one of his palms so he could see where he was. The familiar streetlights of the apartment building parking lot shined down on him like comforting fluorescent and glass stars through the windshield.

"I think it's like 9-ish, I forgot my phone so I don' really know, also Mc Donald's is open 24 hours so it was all good, also it's pretty late so we might want to go inside, also, I got you a chocolate milkshake." Antonio continued to go on.

"Ok, ok, I get it." Lovino half chuckled half grumbled. It was funny how much he ranted and raved, but it was also slightly annoying. He pulled himself up out of the seat and frowned at Antonio, who was awkwardly staring at Lovino. It was slightly unsettling for Antonio to stare, it was odd for Antonio to notice things in general too, let alone stare.

"What are you looking at? Do I have shit on my face?" Lovino huffed in a tone that was more gruff than he originally wanted it to be.

"You're shaking pretty bad, are you cold?" Antonio cocked his head to the side and looked at him in the dark parking lot.

Lovino looked down at his hands which were shaking like leaves. He quickly hid his hands in the sleeves of his button up and crossed his arms to stop them from shaking. He wasn't cold, and he didn't know why he was shaking.

"No, I'm not really cold." Lovino mumbled, still looking at his shaking arms that said otherwise. He didn't feel a chill, but he did feel his heart pounding from the dream. "Let's just head back to the damn apartment."

"Ok." Antonio agreed with a slight nod and began to walk towards the apartment building with McDonald's bags in his arms while Lovino trailed behind him.

"Do you want to eat in front of the T.V.?" Antonio asked while bursting in through the door and into the living room.

"Yeah, I guess." Lovino mumbled while taking a milk shake out of Antonio's hands and plopping down on the couch.

"Good, because I haven't cleaned the table in the kitchen off in a while!" Antonio smiled like what he said was an accomplishment. He then kicked his shoes of and leaped over the side of the couch to sit by Lovino.

"So what'cha wanna watch?" Antonio asked while picking up the controller.

 **Sorry I haven't been posting in a while, a lot has happened in the last couple of months. I had a couple family members pass away, and I started harder classes. I've also had trouble writing since my gf was brought into the ER under schizophrenia. I've just kinda been really busy in my friend group, so things might take longer than they should, but I felt this chapter was long over due.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, do you wanna not sleep on the couch?" Antonio asked aloud during a commercial break.

"What the hell does that mean?" Lovino replied while tossing the remote control between his hands.

"We have this really nice bed we used to sleep on together, but now you sleep on the couch, why?" Antonio asked. When Lovino glanced at him he looked almost hurt, like the action of accidentally falling asleep on the couch was a stab at Antonio. Lovino really didn't mean it like that.

"I just accidentally fucking fall asleep, so I guess I could sleep on the bed." Lovino retorted, just to make Antonio feel better. He really wanted to sleep on the bed, and when it became late enough he did.

Lovino rolled over to face the wall and sighed, Antonio's arm around him felt loving at first, but now his shoulders were cramping, and he wondered how Antonio's arm wasn't too. He quickly shook the limp arm off of him and reached for the clock on the nightstand.

He squinted when the glaring red numbers showed the time of 4:30 AM. He couldn't sleep at all, but it was too early to get out of bed. He began to force his eyes close and see if he could fall asleep. It didn't work.

He tossed and turned, and tossed and turned, and tossed. But, when he opened his eyes to look back at the clock, it displayed a big red 4:31 AM.

Deflated, Lovino threw his feet over the side of the bed and got up. The idea of sleeping seemed pretty appealing, but he just couldn't reach it, so what was the point of laying in bed and doing nothing?

He stumbled upright and stood numbly in the dark, he had just realized that even if he did get out of bed, he'd have nothing to do.

He couldn't turn on the coffee maker to make himself coffee, because it makes a loud beeping noise when someone turned it on, and he was afraid that it would wake Antonio. He couldn't turn on the T.V. Because it also might wake Antonio. And, he couldn't make breakfast because it might wake Antonio _and_ it was too early. That left only one thing, Antonio's laptop that was sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

He quickly tip-toed from the edge of the bed, out the bedroom door, and into the living room. He scooped up the computer from the messy coffee table and leaned back to plop on the couch.

Quickly, he touched the mouse pad and watched it light up. It opened to the website of _Spiritual Curiosities_ or Bridget's shop. He slightly grinned at the sight, it was a weird shop, but it's jumbled website was even weirder.

He began to look through the website, the weird fonts and bright pictures nearly giving him a migraine. Up in the corner, a big green box had a "Bio" page, Lovino skimmed through it, nothing really stuck out to him, until he saw a big red _emergency_ link. Curious, Lovino clicked on it and watched the page load.

A page explaining when to call emergency services displayed and Lovino scrolled through it and barely skimmed it, he didn't think he needed someone to explain when to call an ambulance.

When he was skimming through, his pointer on the screen was met with a link with _Spiritual Emergencies_ typed out in bold font. His whole predicament didn't really seem like an emergency, and clicking on it would be stupid; and yet, the bold font called his curiosity.

Shrugging to no one in particular, Lovino clicked on the link and read.

 _If you are having a spiritual emergency or issue, and need my help urgently, please contact me on the phone, or buzz my apartment above the shop._

Lovino rolled his eyes, of course she lived right above the shop. He wasn't having an emergency per say, but he was pretty damn curious about some of the options she had for solving his problems.

Lovino's thoughts were quickly cut short when he saw that glimmering red eyes were peering through the apartment's window and looking right at Lovino. He felt a shiver run down his back when he met them. he couldn't see the owner of the eyes in the darkness, but it gave the same aura as the red eyes in his dream.

Quickly, as if all one motion, Lovino leaped over the back of the couch and ripped open the door behind it, trying to scare of whoever was spying on him. When he looked around the outside hallway area, there was no trace of someone looking through the window or sitting there.

A scuffling sound from across the hallway startled Lovino and he quickly looked over to see a humanoid figure with the same gleaming eyes, hunched at the top of the stairwell. It was too dark to tell exactly who it was, but he could still see the eyes burning into him.

"Hey you son of a bitch! Why were you watching-" But before Lovino could finish, the creature darted down the stairs and Lovino chased after it, trying to get the identity of the person watching him.

Quickly, the creature darted out of the apartment complex with Lovino trailing behind and threatening it as they ran.

Lovino didn't realize where he was till he turned a corner by a convenience store and saw the hanging sign of the 'Spiritual Curiosities' shop, and then he stopped dead in his tracks.

There was no sign of the creature, no sign of a ride home, and he could see Bridget through the window of the shop asleep on a book.

Lovino pondered over whether or not to knock on the door or not. Knocking might be rude, but he wanted to ask if he could get a ride, or at least see if the bus ran at this hour.

Quickly, he padded over to the front of the shop and knocked on the door. Bridget didn't even stir, and Lovino could hear her snoring from outside. Once again, he pounded on the door, this time harder, and watched her jolt awake almost freakishly and look Lovino right in the eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

Bridget squinted when Lovino knocked on the door again, and he kept knocking and knocking until she started to unlock the door. He had no idea what the humanoid thing was and the thought of it coming back to attack him scared the hell out of him, so he was quickly trying to get inside.

"What is your bleedin' problem?!" Bridget cried as she opened the door and invited Lovino inside.

"Is it behind me? Did you fucking see it?" Lovino knew he probably looked like he was out of his rocker. Ok, out of his rocker was an understatement, more like he took a flying back flip off the rocker. He knew he looked hysterical,but he couldn't stop himself.

"What, Lovino? What did you see?" Bridget slammed the door behind him. "Was it dangerous?"

"I have not a goddamn clue! it was this shadow, except it wasn't, and it had red eyes! " Lovino tried to quickly explain without sounding crazy. Even though Bridget dealt with weird stuff daily, Lovino was still scared she would think he was nuts, but it was too late to take back what he said.

"A malicious spirit!" Bridget gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "What could it have wanted with you?"

"Fuck if I knew." Lovino huffed and began nervously running his hand through his hair. Why was all of this so damn mysterious?

"Why did you come back here though?" Bridget asked.

"Whatever it was led me here!" Lovino half explained, half shouted.

"Huh," Bridget scratched at her red curls in a thinking kind of motion "maybe it wanted you to be here. Maybe, it had a reason."

"Well what the fuck is it's reason then?" Lovino asked, a question not really meant for Bridget, or anyone in general for that matter, because no one could answer it.

"I'm not sure," She began scratching at her curls again "Do you have unfinished business here? Maybe the spirit wasn't malicious and was just trying to guide you here."

" _I didn't make a decision._ " Lovino realized quickly.

"What?" Bridget's thick eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Earlier, when you told me what decisions or actions I could make to help this sad fucking situation out, I didn't make a decision. " Lovino could feel his frown turn up into a slight smirk "And now it just wants me to make a decision."

"So," Bridget's confused expression worked it's self into a coy smile. " _How do you feel about crossroads?"_

Lovino's coy smile fell and he sighed. "I guess there's not much of a choice."

He didn't really like the idea of summoning something, or even working with something that was known to play tricks on people. Something as dangerous as the devil wasn't a plaything, but neither was a ghost. But, Him being already dead meant he didn't have much to lose, and yet he had a lot of shit to gain.

Bridget smiled and began pulling out books and explaining what Lovino needed to do. He was pretty confused at first as well as frightened.

"So you're gonna need one of these." Bridget slid an item up on her desk and a Lovino felt his heart beat in his throat. _It was the box from his dream._ The same symbols. The same type of wood. Exactly the same.

"W-what is this for?" Lovino stuttered.

"It's for the summoning part, I'm filling it with things right now, but what I need you to do is get a personal item. Something that is pretty close to you. Then, you need to bury it by a crossroad" Bridget explained as if she was explaining an art project, not summoning the devil.

"Personal object?" What does that even mean? Lovino didn't really understand. This was all happening too fast.

"Y'know what would be a dandy personal object?" Bridget smiled "The Ouija board piece. Y'know the one Antonio looked through?"

"Yeah, I guess." Lovino agreed.

"Good." Bridget said, passing him the box "Go get the piece and then bury it by a crossroad"

Lovino took the box and began to walk towards the door, but before he opened it he stopped and remembered something, _He had no idea where the nearest crossroads were._

"Hey, do you have any fucking idea where crossroads might be?" Lovino called back to Bridget who was already seated at her desk and nosing through a book.

"Take the exit with the Shell off of the freeway and I think there is one nearby." Bridget called back without even looking up.

"Ok." Lovino mumbled and closing the door behind him, leaving the light of the store behind, and began walking back toward the apartment, whistling as he walked.

Each step left him even more paranoid as the silence of the night hammered in his ear, he felt as if he could almost feel the red eyes of the creature that was following him before. He just kept walking until he saw the apartment building around the corner, and suddenly, each step felt safer and he hugged the box to his chest like a safety net.

He quickly walked into the parking lot and straight to Antonio's tan car parked right under a streetlamp. All of the Ouija board pieces were in the back seat, he could see it through the back window that he was cupping his hands around his eyes to see in. But, it was just slightly out of reach, the car was locked, he tried jiggling the handle. Twice.

He looked towards the apartment and sent a silent prayer that it was still unlocked, he ran up the stairs, nearly out of breath when he got to the door, and reached out for the handle and stopped.

What if it was locked? He already had the box and all of the stuff, he just needed the Ouija board. The anxiety of what he would do if it didn't work filled him, but he swallowed it down to the back of his throat. He was nervous, and he could feel his palms sweat, but there was no reason to freeze up now.

He crossed himself once and then ripped open the apartment door, hearing it slam against the wall near it with a dead thunk in the silence of the night. So… it had not been locked like he worried.

Quickly, he fished the keys off of the messy coffee table in the living room and took off out of the apartment, running as fast as he could. He needed to get this done before Antonio woke up, which was at 6:00, and he had no idea what time it was now.

He unlocked the car and threw the keys into the front seat, then pulled the Ouija piece out of the car and put it in the box, making sure to close the lid tightly. From the corner of his eye he saw it, a little black flashlight, probably used by Antonio to look in the back of the car.

Quickly he snatched it up and slammed the car door close, tested the flashlight for a glow and watched as it pooled light around him. He tossed it between each hand to test if the light flickered or faded and it didn't, so began his trek to the crossroads next to the Shell gas station off of the highway with the little bit of light that the flashlight supplied him.

He padded from the apartment building to the freeway with the box clutched to his chest and with the other arm he held the flashlight. Sometimes cars roared across and he wondered what they could see of him. He was invisible to most so maybe he looked like a floating flashlight and box going down the freeway, maybe he would become some kind of freeway ghost sighting, something that crazy TV ghost hunters would look for and edgy kids would try to mess around with.

The thought its self was amusing enough, he was chuckling as he came to the exit where he could see the shell sign hang over the trees along the side of the freeway. It looked almost like an artificial moon if he squinted, but he kept walking forward.

He walked onto the freeway exit street, past a pretty desolate shell gas station, and into a surface street until he saw it. A place where to roads met and laid over each other.

Instantly the atmosphere felt heavy, almost sickening, but it was too late to wuss out now. He began to dig a small hole by the road with his bare hands, he forgot to get a shovel and regretted it because he could feel dirt going under his nails and tearing at his fingertips.

The flashlight, which he held in his mouth so he could see, showed a sizeable hole eventually, and he began to put the box in and slide dirt over it.

He looked around, expecting something to happen, something that proved that this wasn't all bullshit and he was just scaring himself next to the road in the woods. He looked expectantly out into the trees, expecting something to happen. Instead, the trees rustled with a cold wind that in turn caught him and sent a chill down his spine.

He scanned the trees again looking for some sign of something. Until he saw them.

The little red beady eyes he saw in his dream, shining out of the bushes.


End file.
